Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ:HLIT)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $13.37, but opened at $12.82. Harmonic shares last traded at $12.88, with a volume of 81,253 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HLIT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays downgraded Harmonic from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Harmonic from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $14.00 to $12.50 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Northland Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Harmonic from $16.00 to $14.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Harmonic from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Harmonic in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Harmonic has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $14.75.

Harmonic Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $12.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.17. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The communications equipment provider reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $195.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.77 million. Harmonic had a return on equity of 7.56% and a net margin of 13.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.05) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Harmonic Inc. will post 0.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Harmonic

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HLIT. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Harmonic by 117.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,448 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,323 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Harmonic by 274.2% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,439 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 6,184 shares during the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in Harmonic in the third quarter worth about $166,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Harmonic by 14.9% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,671 shares of the communications equipment provider’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Harmonic during the third quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Institutional investors own 99.38% of the company’s stock.

Harmonic Company Profile

Harmonic Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband solutions worldwide. The company operates through Broadband and Video segments. The Broadband segment sells broadband access solutions and related services, including cOS software-based broadband access solutions to broadband operators; and cOS central cloud services, a subscription service for cOS customers.